Page 142 - From Bombay to Bollywoord The Making of a Global Media Industri

Dot-Coms and the Making of an Overseas Territory >> 129

“Do You Know Your NRI?”

Indiafm.com serves as a particularly compelling case to examine how dot-
com executives participated in and shaped discussions of Bollywood’s “cor-
poratization” and in doing so, carved out a space for digital media companies
in Bombay. It is important to recognize at the very outset that indiafm.com’s
identity as a marketing company was never in question. Since January 2000,
when it was acquired by hungama.com, it has been positioned as an “enter-
tainment marketing” company that could assist Bollywood with in-film
branding, cosponsorship, movie promotions, and designing a movie website.
Saleem Mobhani and others at indiafm.com recognized that in the long run,
their success in forging ties with Bollywood would depend on how well they
could establish the idea that Bollywood’s ability to “go global” rested on the
industry’s willingness to match Hollywood in every domain, including the
use of innovative new media strategies to promote films. To illustrate how
critical this issue was and how indiafm.com tackled the challenge, let me
return to the press kit that Saleem Mobhani handed me.
In addition to the brochure which explained why “indiafm.com is the No.
1 Bollywood portal,” the press kit contained thirteen issues of a trade-focused
magazine published by indiafm.com called “70MM: Movie Marketing at Its
Best!” In the first issue, the editor, Venetia Fernandes, outlines the magazine’s
mandate (December 2003): “Through 70MM, we endeavour to provide you
with a sneak peek into various facets of the world of movie marketing glob-
ally, right from the official websites of the latest Bollywood and Hollywood
films, to promotions on the mobile platform and inventive marketing case
studies.” Neatly positioning Bollywood and Hollywood in the same frame,
Fernandes continues,

A movie release today goes beyond mere promos and eye-catching head-
ings. Marketing a movie today is all about an amalgamation of online and
offline activities. Hollywood has been a pioneer in the movie marketing
arena showcasing a trend in film tie-ups with prominent brands . . . back
home, we are also witnessing a greater shift towards in-film branding and
use of new media platforms.

Every issue of 70MM included “case studies” of film marketing and branding
in Hollywood that were featured alongside reports of indiafm.com and hun-
gama.com’s innovations in promoting and marketing Bollywood films. For
instance, the November 2004 issue began with a two-page “spotlight” section
that explains how Hollywood animation films such as The Incredibles and